Michael Phelps Continues Comeback With Butterfly Win

US swimmer Michael Phelps' winning time was the exact same time produced in the 100m fly final at Mesa, where he finished runner-up to former Olympic teammate Ryan Lochte.

Written by Agence-France Presse

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Charlotte, USA:

Olympic legend Michael Phelps continued his return to competitive swimming Friday with a victory in the 100m butterfly at the Charlotte Ultraswim Grand Prix meeting.

Phelps, who retired after the 2012 London Games with a record 22 Olympic medals -- a staggering 18 of them gold -- notched his first finals victory since then in his second meeting since he returned to competition at the Grand Prix in Mesa, Arizona, last month.

Phelps led at the 50m mark and won in 52.13sec with Pavel Sankovic of Belarus second in 52.72 and Singapore's Joseph Schooling third in 52.95.

The US swimmer's winning time was the exact same time produced in the 100m fly final at Mesa, where he finished runner-up to former US Olympic teammate Ryan Lochte.

Phelps also swam in the 200m freestyle heats on Friday morning, squeaking into the final but opting not to swim it in the evening.